CITY & GUILDS OF LONDON ART SCHOOL
DEGREE SHOW 2023
MA FINE ART
In my still life compositions, I tell the stories behind objects. I am drawn to decorative patterns as cultural signifiers which are deeply imbued with a sense of meaning and identity. I use analogy to weave multiple objects and patterns’ stories together. I also draw upon the decorative to reflect on subjects like the environmental challenges we face today, and to examine what aesthetic, material, economic and emotional value we attribute to objects.
My current body of work addresses the harmful impact of fast fashion and its wasteful practices on people and planet alike, contrasting this with the restorative potential in caring for our clothing and giving it new life when it’s damaged. These works celebrate the tenderness, resourcefulness and ingenuity found in acts of repair and preservation.
My pictorial style follows the tradition of trompe-l’oeil. To depict worn, torn and mended textiles, I have increasingly been making use of the properties of paper – cutting, tearing, folding and crumpling it – alongside the illusionistic techniques of painting.
‘Work in Progress’ is a series of double-sided cut-out paintings on paper hanging from pegs on a line. They represent tattered garments showing traces of paint, stains, tears and mending, looking as if they are drooping under their own weight. The title refers to these garments’ intrinsic association to labour: historically they were all worn by workers and labour was involved in producing and continuously repairing them. These garments are the physical manifestations of the time, care and skill taken to ensure their endurance.
Maanwhile, by painting and framing a collection of clothes in the 'Beyond the Moths' series, I sought to represent an impulse for preservation, conservation, collecting and archiving. The title of these pieces points to this impulse, whereby treasured items are preserved from wear and tear, stains and moths, by being frozen in time in an exhibition context.
